1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to phonograph record players, and more particularly to a toy record players having a movable body for following the spiral track on a stationary record disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various toys are known having therein a miniature phonograph device. Such toys include talking dolls or animals, talking cars and musical vehicles. The incorporation of such a phonograph device into the body of a toy makes the construction of such a toy rather complex, and moreover it is difficult to provide for sound reproduction of any substantial length or variety.
Another toy phonograph device is described in U.K. Pat. Specification No. 1,145,550, and such device comprises a pair of guide rails formed on a special phonograph record member, a vehicle body having wheels to be guided by the rails, a spiral sound groove formed between the guide rails on the record member, and a cartridge member connected to the vehicle body and operative to reproduce a sound recorded in the sound groove on the record member.
With this device, where the gauge of the guide rails is fairly large, it may still be possible to reproduce sound for a reasonably long time. However, it is required to provide the special record member, with the two projecting guide rails, for each different sound to be reproduced. It is not possible to reproduce sounds from a conventional disc record now available to consumers, because such records lack the required guide rails.
In an attempt to eliminate the foregoing disadvantage, an improved toy phonograph device has been contrived which is capable of reproducing sounds from a conventional record disc (i.e., of the type without guide rails). In such a device, as described, for example, in commonly-assigned copending Application Ser. No. 942,269, filed Sept. 14, 1978, a movably body is equipped with a propulsion mechanism and a pickup cartridge operatively arranged on the body in such a manner that, when the movable body travels along the sound groove on the record disc, a reproducing stylus of the pickup cartridge tracks the sound groove of the record disc to reproduce the signals prerecorded therein, and at the same time guides the movable body along the sound groove. In such a device, however, because the device is driven in a generally circular path around the record disc, the movable body is subjected to a centrifugal force thereby disturbing the operation of the device by causing disengagement of the stylus from the sound groove and instability in controlling the direction of travel. Such disturbances are most noticeable when the moveable body travels at a relatively high rate of speed, such as during playing of a 45 rpm record disc or when reproducing the outermost portion of a 331/3 rmp record disc.